What advice would you give to any coaches
starting on the coaching journey.
First let me say how difficult it is for the coaches of today. The
opportunities and access to top coaches like we had in the days
of AFCAT have gone. I remember practically stalking Don Howe. I
was at every session he did, so much so that Don said to me it
was his ambition to run a course which I did not attend! Coaches
were more open when I was coming through and would tell you
about how they did things and the decisions they made. These
were fantastic learning opportunities for young coaches.
To this day I have got every session I have ever done written
down and stored away. I would evaluate my sessions and give
myself an honest assessment of how the session went, was the
area too big or too small, was the session appropriate, did I make
the conditions too hard, how would I do that the next time?
Evaluating your work honestly is very important, but in my
opinion planning a session is more important. I would, and still
do, spend hours preparing the session. How I was going to do the
session, what players would I focus on, how would this affect
other players?
I am always studying the game and I remember watching Spartak
Moscow at Ewood many years ago. They were using the wall pass
to great effect, and after the game I went home and devised a
session on wall passing and all the options it gave the team.
Planning time is something today’s coaches don’t get enough time
to do. I would also advise young coaches to avoid the jargon.
Concentrate on the small details, break the session down. The
angle of the pass, the timing of the pass, the weight of the pass,
when, where and how to support, how does the want the ball?
Where he is or where he is going. These are the details the
players need and to be blunt, aim the session at the best players,
raise the bar and plan your work around the best player. Some
coaches are wrapped up in fancy drills, all bells and whistles
which look good but how much information are the players really
taking away from the session?